White
by Vhii1217
Summary: This is a simple story about L's childhood in Wammy's House. He spent it with a girl who had some problems with herself. Final chapter. LxOC, friendship only
1. Chapter I Promise

This is a story about the childhood of L in Wammy's House. He spent it with an OC-girl who was his unofficial childhood friend (he never really admitted her as his mate, but they got along pretty well). I don't make her as L's girlfriend (of course, I won't give in L to my own character, 'cause L is mine! XD), she was merely the one who accompanied him in his lonely time. Don't worry about spoiler, since I have just read the first three volumes of manga and watched 21 episodes of the anime, I don't think I'll give you important spoilers.

Disclaimer : Although I've coincidentally exclaimed L as mine, actually L and the entire Death Note series belongs to Tsugumi Ohba-sensei and Takeshi Obata-sensei. I'm just a fangirl who falls in love with their creation, and I made this fanfic for no profit other than the joy of other fans.

So enjoy!

_White_

Chapter I: Promise

"Mr. Wammy!"

Quilsh Wammy/Watari (A.N : for me, it's more convenient to call him Watari, so I'll use it as well) looked up from his doing on the desk. He stood up, stretched a little and walked to his office door. He opened it and found a 9-years-old girl standing in front of his office in Wammy's House. She was pouting while crossing her arms in front of her quite-tall-for-her-age body.

"What is it, Maria?"

"Mr. Wammy..." The Maria-girl answered in an annoyed tone. "The boy you have just brought here yesterday was pissing me off."

"Really?" Watari raised his right eyebrow. "What did he do?"

"I don't know exactly what he doing is. He just stared at today's morning newspaper, completely ignoring me. I… I was just very happy since I think I get a friend after being lonely for so long but… It's just like having statue as a roommate! It's… I…" Maria burst into tears. Watari sighed and kneeled beside her, stroking her fine brown hair.

"I'll talk to him. But Maria, you have to understand too. Yesterday I saw him standing on his own under the pouring snow. He seems used to be lonely too, just like you. Perhaps he has not been getting used to get along with friends."

Maria looked at Watari's eyes and then wiped her tears. "If things are really like that… he must be very pitiful and cheerless."

"Yes," Watari nodded. "Actually I have not known that boy very well but I can see it in his eyes. You can see it too, can't you? If you try to know him better, I'm sure he is the best person who can be your friend, as well as you are to be his best friend."

Maria widened her big brown eyes and blinked twice as an expression of her curiosity. "Why can you say something like that, Mr. Wammy?"

Watari stood up and took one of Maria's hands, leading her to the room that Maria and the boy shared. He inhaled quite deeply, "Because you two shared similar fates. Before coming here, ever since you two were born, there were almost none of the people who care for you."

_Watari was walking down a crossing bridge while keeping his hat from being blown by wind. That was the last day of autumn; the wind was cold and harsh. When he was about to turn left to reach Wammy's House, he saw a little 7-years-old girl sitting in the corner of the street. She was skinny and dusty, her brown hair messed up and her big brown eyes were feeble. Besides, she was shivering in the breeze, since she wore a shirt and shorts only. Watari walked forward to the corner instead of turning left. He kneeled down and tried to talk to the girl._

_From her tale, Watari could conclude that the girl was a victim of parents-divorcement and neither of them wanting the kid. Since she was very-very young, her parents never got along well. They always fought and the child, namely Maria, always became the victim of their emotional whims._

_Watari then brought the child to Wammy's house and took care of her. But there was a problem. Maria never could get along with other kids. While the others playing around, she just sat in her room and stared at nothing. She could only speak quite normally to Watari. Watari often told her to join other kids playing, but since she had wore an image of being cold and vain, no one wanted to respond her. Not only that, there was also no one wanted to share room with her, so she had been living in her own room for two years, lonely. It made her way more upset._

"Ah, we make it."

Watari and Maria had arrived in front of Maria and the new boy's room. Watari knocked the door twice.

"Just come in," They heard a low child's voice from inside. Watari opened the door to meet the boy. As Maria had told him, the boy was examining the newspaper seriously, not even bothered by the arrival of Watari and his roommate. He was sitting with his legs folded up in front of his thin body while his thumb was pressed onto his lower lip. His bagged eyes followed the line he was reading yet his head barely moved. Also, Watari noticed, he held the newspaper very oddly, pinching the top of the sheet with his left thumb and pointer finger. Sometimes when his right thumb was free, he would pinch both of the upper corners of the newspaper with two hands. His curled too-big long-sleeved blue shirt and black trousers 'swallowed' his skinny figure. Maria pouted a little. She just didn't like dark colours like the ones that boy wore.

"Mmm, Lawliet…" Watari began to speak but then being cut off by the boy.

"I've told you yesterday what name I would be glad to be called," the little boy said with a hint of disappoint in his voice, though his face remained expressionless as he continued to examine a black-and-white photo of crime scene below paragraphs of murder case news.

"Oh, I apologize then, L," Watari corrected his word, causing the boy to smile and, for the first time on that day, looked up from his newspaper to see Watari and Maria. For no apparent reason, Maria blushed a little when she saw his pure smile.

"I bet there's something quite important you'd like to tell me, Mr. Wammy," The 8-years-old L said while tilted his head a bit. "About Maria, I guess? Did I trouble you, Maria? Are you alright with me?"

Maria was surprised to hear that. First, she didn't think that L knew her name. Well, Watari had introduced her to him when they got into her room yesterday. She remembered Watari said something like, "Lawliet… I mean L, this is Maria, your roommate" but she didn't expect him to register it, since he responded nothing. And Watari never reiterated her name again to the boy after that. Moreover, she fell asleep just a minute after the boy stepped into the room and they had not exchanged words until now, since L remained silent when Maria tried to communicate with him that morning.

Second, why did he know that Watari come to speak with him about her? She meant… okay, Watari came there with her but that was no evidence enough. Things could be she and Watari came in for own individual reason, right? It was not strange because this was her room too.

Third, this was the simplest but the most stunning of all… did he care for her?

Watari seemed to be brightened by L's smile and caring question for Maria, since he was worried of L being the second antisocial kid in Wammy's house, considering that he had not gone out to meet other children and to play with them. Okay, the old man had to admit that he _still _worried about L, as he didn't show normal acts of a child. Was there any other of 8-years-old kids in entire England who liked reading news of murder case in purpose to find clues to grab the culprit _seriously_? He meant… There were many kids who liked to pretend as a detective but _never ever _as serious as L. It seemed like L had chosen his way to be a real detective. Watari weren't sure why he took the boy's ambition so seriously and not taking it as a child's joke, but every time he saw through L's deep black eyes he knew for sure that this child wasn't only pretending his dreamed career. He was for real and extremely ready facing anything that got in his way. Yeah… Actually it was not that bad if a child has known exactly what he would be in the future, but it made Watari rather afraid as how if the child didn't grow up normally because of his ambition. Children were supposed to enjoy their time as children and not to spend time investigating alone like what L was doing now. Somehow he felt like perhaps L had too great intelligence that troubled him from growing up and interacting with other people normally. He often read about something like that in his reference books. Of course that time was too early to make a conclusion since Watari had just known L for not more than 24 hours, but his paternal drive told him so.

Back to the topic, Watari shoved all ideas about detective for a while. It could wait. Now he should speak to L in order to help Maria. Watari took a seat on L's bed. Maria hesitantly walked over to her own bed and sat down. L frowned back at some random black-and-white photos of four suspects. Suddenly he turned his gaze to three scanned dying messages-now with a significant move of head-as if he realized something very important.

"Okay, kids, now let's have a discussion. L, I know you are reading and do not want to be bothered, but could you please leave it a moment while we're talking?"

L remained silent for a while, then opened his mouth a bit and closed it again as if he doubted whether or not to speak, his eyes still plastered at a certain photo. Watari noticed this.

"Something on your mind, L? You really can't pause it only a short moment, it seems. I see that you're reading about the mysterious murder case that gets all people's attention nowadays because even five professional detectives hired cannot solve the case. And in today newspaper the police force finally has three confidential dying messages and the photos of all suspects included complete report of the progress of investigation attached in order to hear people's opinion about them. It must be very interesting for you."

"No, it's not that," L replied while placing his right thumb between his lips. Suddenly he let go the newspaper from his left hand, causing it to fall down to his bed in a messed up condition. "I've done reading this. I'm thinking… If I stop reading and listen to this discussion, could I ask you a favor, Mr. Wammy?"

Watari was quite surprised, but then he smiled. "I shall know first what your favor is."

"Do you know how to contact English police force?"

"Huh?" It was not Watari who sounded, but Maria. She didn't voice very loudly, but since she spoke to the silence, the echo of her voice quite grabbed attention. L gave her a glance but then ignored it.

"Actually I know, but… What do you want from it, L?" Watari answered while studying L's reaction. The little black-haired boy glanced at Maria for half a second and threw his attention back to Watari.

"I only tell you, Mr. Wammy."

Hearing this, Maria caught in rage. She stood up angrily as she pointed right to L's nose. "I know you have some business with that idiot murder case and I know you are not going to tell Mr. Wammy while I am around because you hate me! I never have friend in my life and I bet you too consider me as a foe! I know everyone do! I will always be an outsider and a disturbance for everyone! I will not be accepted wherever I am! How stupid I am to think that perhaps you can be my friend, oh, idiot me! Now I'm going to leave as what you want me to do, you're happy, right?! I…" Maria yelled indignantly at confused-as-hell L. Watari tried to calm her down. He knew exactly that the girl had problem with herself. She was kind of underestimating her own ability to interact with other people, which is by herself proved to be true.

"Wait… this…" L frowned slightly. "What were you talking about? How can you say I hate you?"

"Because… everyone do! And your action told me so!" Maria replied while cursing the tears that fell from her eyes.

L looked down for a moment. Somehow his expression stopped Maria from yelling more.

"If I tell you, you will say that I'm crazy, just like they did…"

"C-crazy? Who're they?"

Watari chose not to interrupt the conversation that streamed between the two kids he mostly worried about. That was the chance to know about L's past, what had happened to him that made him hard to socially interact.

"When I had something in my mind, they would ask about what it was. When I refused to tell them, they would force me. When I told them, they laughed at me and said that I'm crazy…" L hugged his legs closer to him. "I just told them the truth, but they didn't want to believe. I don't care whether or not they believe it, but… Just don't ask me in the first place if they won't be pleased by my answer! And why should they laugh at my opinion after they asked me? It's just… nonsense, and a kind of humiliation…"

So… that was it. It seemed like Watari had the last piece of puzzle settled. It was really because of his abnormal intelligence. Well, every kid in Wammy's House had outstanding cleverness, but L seemed to far surpass them.

"That's…" Maria looked very uneasy with present atmosphere. Basically she was a melancholic girl and never to intend to hurt other's heart. But she herself sometimes felt being evicted from surroundings, since she never knew just what thing she had done that made people ignored her. She was never aware of that cold and irrespective expression she always wore. Besides, the trauma of her being unwanted by her own parents made her more 'problematic'.

"Well, Maria, you've already known that L never intentionally disrespected you. Now you two can exchange tales or experiences, make yourself as siblings," Watari was about to leave the room when L demanded,

"Mr. Wammy, how about the police force?"

"Ah," Watari remembered. "Must it be now?"

L nodded. "Before someone else gives them false solving."

"Okay then. Follow me."

Maria just stared at Watari and L sadly. Whenever someone was about to leave her alone, regardless the circumstance, she would be upset. She _was _upset, until she heard a boy's low voice said,

"I'll be back soon, Maria."

Maria looked up at L, who was walking away without eyeing her. After the door silently shut, Maria smiled simply to his fading figure,

"I'll be waiting, L."

A.N: I'm sorry it's very long and rather boring (I hope it isn't that bad). I always got critics for my grammars and a lack of vocabs so I want to apologize first, I'm not a native or such. Else, please tell me if L is OOC or the storyline is not good enough. Please encourage me to continue this (only if you want me to, though)! Thank you for your attention!


	2. Chapter II First Case

I've done watching the anime, but since this is a story about before Kira case, I think there's no important spoiler.

Disclaimer : Death Note is not mine, its entire series belong to Tsugumi Ohba-sensei and Takeshi Obata-sensei (even though I want to own L so bad , ). This fanfiction was made for no profit other than the joy of other fans. So, enjoy!

_White_

Chapter II: First Case

In Watari's office, both Watari and L took seats.

"What will you do with the police force, L?" Watari asked. Apparently he wasn't really surprised by the answer,

"'Winchester November 3' Murder Case," L said clearly.

L waited in silence while Watari opened his cabinet and pulled out a telephone. It was quite big. Watari set it on the desk and after busying himself with the wires, Watari wiped a sweat that formed on his forehead. "You can use this telephone, L."

"I guess…" L looked up at the ceiling. A negligent person would say that he was daydreaming or something, seeing the expression on his face. "…that device has a voice-cover, has it not?"

"Yes, it does. And not only that…"

"…the phone number's also undetectable and therefore the police force can't find our location in case they want to check the speaker."

"Yes," Watari was impressed by the young boy's mind.

"That was not surprising, since you are a great inventor," L said while nibbling on his right thumb, eyes gazing at a jar of honey-candy on Watari's desk.

"Thank you, L," Watari laughed while pushing the jar gently at L's direction. L opened up the lid and took one of the sticky candies, immediately put it into his mouth. He licked the remained honey on his forefinger while Watari searching in his desk's cabinets for a contact book. "Found it! L, are you sure you want to speak by yourself? I mean… I can be your spokesperson, if you like."

"No, thanks, Mr. Wammy. Since you set up that nice telephone you have known that I want to talk to the police by myself."

"Yes," Watari exhaled while dialing the number of police force. "You must be pleased to know that I'm contacting directly to that murder case investigation section."

"It's more than I ever wish, Mr. Wammy, really thank you a lot."

Watari gave little L a warm smile. He didn't really know _why _he let such a little kid spoke to the investigation team, but all L had said were enough to convince him that L was a bright child, that he was capable and responsible to what he was going to say. "Hello. Am I talking to 'Winchester November 3rd' Murder Case Investigation section?"

A lazy 'yes' uttered by the man across. It looked like he already received many opinions from people, but nothing of them gave enough satisfaction.

"Now, I'm with someone who can solve the case. Could you please hear his opinion about this case?"

"Gladly, sir. Name and address, please."

"L. Winchester," L took the phone from Watari's hand.

"Pardon me, sir, could you please mention name once again?"

"L. My name is L."

"Elle?"

"L. Twelfth letter of alphabet. From Winchester."

"I apologize first, sir, but we need a surname and full address. Without that we cannot…"

"Could I speak to the chief?"

"Pardon?"

"I want to speak directly to the chief. This is urgent."

"But… this… please wait a moment, sir," the man across heard like talking to another officer before he answered L. "We are sorry for the inconvenience. The chief is pleased to hear your opinion, sir, so here he is…"

The speaker switched to a more charming man. He didn't really mind the name 'L' or the incomplete address. _It must be just another joke_, the chief thought, _the people liked to laugh at the police when we have difficulties and never thank us after we caught criminals._

L started his explanation. He elucidated all things with amazing details, as if the investigation report was lying on the desk in front of him. In fact, the newspaper was left in his bedroom, but he remembered until the smallest details.

"And then, according to paragraph 2 line 5, there were three stabs on the victim's body-Sean McPhill's body-as pictured in the second photo from the left. Paragraph 3 line 7 until 9 explained condition of the crime scene as pictured in the photo on the corner. Jess Leftwit and her twin brother Jens Leftwit came to the crime scene 60 minutes after Alyssa Garner and his grandfather Alan Crock, the gardener of McPhills, found the body. Jess Leftwit is known being in her office when the crime's committed. She was contacted by Jens to come to their brother-in-law's house because Crock told Jens what had happened to Crock's employer. Most of McPhills and Leftwits had died because of a fire at the wedding of Matt McPhill-Sean's brother-and Lana Leftwit-Jess and Jens' sister. Therefore, the remained members of the two families have to be Sean McPhill, Jess Leftwit, Jens Leftwit, and Derry McPhill, but now we know that Sean was murdered. We can make sure that Jess Leftwit is innocent, so the remained suspects are…" And so on and so on and so on. L spoke clearly and without any hesitation. At the end of his explanation, the chief said,

"To be honest, this is the most important call this day. We'll take all of your thought into our consideration. We owe you, Mr. L."

L didn't hear all of this. He was too busy to part two honey-candies that stuck to each other. On the other hand, Watari did. After giving a necessary contact number to the chief, Watari hung up. "Very good job, L. You succeed in making a big step to the closing of this case just from reading the newspaper. The chief and I… appreciate your brilliance."

L cracked the sticking honey-candies with his whole energy. "Thank you, Mr. Wammy. Whatever they might say, I will give my all to fight for my sense of justice. I was born to prove that… justice will prevail."

Watari looked solemnly at the curled-up-on-the-chair-like-a-ball L, who finally succeeded in parting those annoying honey-candies. He was just about to eat one when he suddenly stood up on his chair, very spontaneous that might have Watari get a heart attack if he wasn't strong enough. L jumped off of his chair and ran to the door. "Thank you for today, Mr. Wammy. I just remembered… I've promised to Maria to be back soon." With that, L slipped away from sight. Watari curved an old warm smile.

"Have you done, L?" Maria looked up at suddenly-shown-up L.

"Yes." L jumped onto his bed and began to crouch.

"Do you always sit like that?" 

"Yes, or else my analysis capability will drop by 40."

"Wha-... oh." Maria didn't know what to say about that. L didn't really care. "Would you like me to call you L?"

"Yes."

"I think the name 'Lawliet' isn't that bad."

"That's not the reason," L stated. "It's important to hide some personal information in case somebody's gonna use it to knock me down."

"Oh," Maria was a little bit confused, but she held it back. "I don't think someone will ever care for me or is gonna do something with my name so I'll tell you, my name is Maria Lawson."

"Lawson… Your name has 'law' in it. What a good name."

"And so does yours," Maria chuckled. "You really like a job of detective?"

"Yes, I'll give everything to fight for the name of justice."

They spent that day on talking to each other and building up a- for normal people- quite weird conversation. But neither of them was completely normal, so that's okay.

"L?" Maria said when she already laid down in her blanket. It was already night.

"Yes?"

"I'll be honest to you. In my life never do I speak as much as I do today. I am… happy, to know that I have a friend whom I can talk to. Thank you."

L was still freezing in his crouching position. "You can count on me."

A year had passed very quickly. Jens Leftwit, the culprit of 'Winchester November 3, 1987' Murder Case had been sentenced as soon as L mentioned his name as the murderer. After that, the English police force often called L (by the number Watari had given them) for his opinion and advise. Soon his name was known throughout the country as a sharp and brilliant detective. Of course, they didn't know that the famous detective was merely an under-10 kid.

In Wammy's House, L was also known well for both his ability and weirdness. The weirdness, others said, also included Maria as his close friend. _Two weirdos will make sense_, they said. But they still respected the 9-years-old boy for his knowledge and sharpness, since he occasionally helped others finding forgotten properties or figuring out who ate another child's cake.

"L, you are famous now," Maria said as she spooned up her lunch.

"It's only my nickname that's famous."

"It's you who refused to show up."

"They won't believe me anymore if they see my appearance," L said while scratching his left toe with his right one. He forked his black forest cake and bit it.

"That makes sense," Maria nodded while chuckling a little. It was almost unbelievable that the popular detective was actually this careless boy. "But L, I think you have been overworking. You look very tired, lack of rest and food. Even though I am your roommate, I rarely see you sleep. That's not healthy, you know."

L widened his terribly-bagged black eyes. "Lack of rest may be true, even though it doesn't really matter, but not with the food."

"Oh, yes it is," Maria frowned. "See? You are very skinny. You never eat decent meal, only sweets and sweets."

"I'm okay with that."

"Yeah, but you look so pitiful, you know? You look like a child who is forced to work harder that he can do."

"I'm not forced."

"I know that, but… You should think of your health too, L. Okay, maybe you never get sick so far, but you must still take care of yourself. See, you even never change those old clothes and comb your hair. Your face is very pale and…" Maria took one of L's hands. "Your skin felt so cold to touch. It's worrying, you know."

"… I DO change. But all my clothes are in same fashion and same colour." (A.N: ohoo stubborn little kid XD I doubt he really got change)

"Yeah, that's just my advice. To be honest, I don't admire the colours of your clothes. They are just too contrasting your skin." Maria exhaled tiredly, letting go of L's hand.

"Thank you for your care, Maria," L said. "But I think you don't like it just because you like no other than white," he continued, barely audible.

The atmosphere was being rather uneasy between two of them. Maria decided to change the topic. "Hey, L, let's make a deal."

"What?"

"I want to make a memorable thing with you, so I won't forget you once I become older. Here's to do it: Each of us buries a present for other and we are supposed to dig out 10 years later!"

"10 years?" L frowned a bit. His voice distorted as he spoke around two cherries.

"Yeah, it will be interesting!"

"Where will we bury them?"

"At the park over there," Maria offered, referring to the nearest park from Wammy's House. They had occasionally walked there together before L became so busy. "Tomorrow afternoon, at 4 P.M, we will meet there and bury our presents! You are not allowed to see my present for you and vice versa, so we will know what it is 10 years later, on September 30, 1998. How does it sound?"

"Umm…" L looked up at the ceiling before agreed. "Okay… I'll buy you something with my first pay."

"First pay?"

"Yes, tomorrow morning I'll go to the police force to receive pay for my works this year."

"Really? You must get a lot of money! Your opinions were very valuable to arrest many criminals, right?"

"Yeah, sort of," L pulled up the sleeves of his old blue shirt to prevent them from getting dirty by the cream of his black forest.

"But you said that you won't appear in public because you're afraid they won't believe you anymore!" Maria tilted her head a bit in curiosity.

"Yes, that's why Mr. Wammy will be with me tomorrow. He will be the representative of L."

"Won't they be suspicious? They might think that Mr. Wammy just wants to get the money!"

"Of course they will confirm it first. They'll contact me and I'll say that he is true my representative."

"But you're there too! How can they contact…"

"They won't let me in," L chuckled a little. "I'll be waiting in separate room. The police force will call the cell phone number they used to contact. I'll answer it and make them sure."

"But… Mr. Wammy is popular! They will know where to find you if they know that you link to Mr. Wammy!"

"For that case, I'll have Mr. Wammy dress in a coat and a hat, fully cover his real appearance. Also, Mr. Wammy will use a fake name 'Watari'."

"Watari… sounds like a Japanese name."

"Haven't I told you that I'm actually Japanese?"

"Oh yes," Maria smiled while remembering. "Then make sure that the first thing you buy with that money will be for me! And tomorrow we will meet at 4 P.M and you will bury it! We will bury our presents together!"

"Alright," L nodded while dishing up the last piece of his black forest. "I promise."

"Things really went easily, right, L?"

The next morning, Watari and L walked away from the police force building. Watari had given the envelope full of money to L and the little thin boy had stuck it carefully into his trousers' pocket.

"Mr. Wammy, before we come home, can I go to the department store first?"

"Hmm? Is there something you want to buy with that money?"

"Yes," L answered, a small blush spread over his pale face. "I've promised Maria something that I'll buy with my first pay."

"Hahaha, that's alright. You two really get along well!"

They waved for a taxi and went to a big department store. After seeing things here and there, L finally chose what he would give to Maria.

"So that's what you're going to give her? Why you suddenly made such a promise?" Watari questioned while they were walking outside the dept. store.

"Umm… Actually, yesterday Maria and I made a promise to bu…"

L didn't continue his words, since that moment he passed out. Fortunately Watari was holding his hand so his small figure did not immediately hit the hard ground.

"L?!" Watari quickly caught L's body and carried him to a taxi.

"Hospital please, as soon as possible!"

A.N: Aww, I know L didn't use to look weak (in this case, getting sick) but I just want to add a touch of humanity in him, since he _is _human. Moreover, he is still a little cute child here ;) But if you think it's bad for L's character, just tell me so I can correct it in my next chapter (but it's gonna be kind hard since I actually had finished the story but was forced to divide it into chapters because of its huge length) but I'll try my best, because this story was made for your joy. So please write a review (or more XD) to let me know what you are thinking! For those who have read my story, whether or not like it, thanks a lot! Special thanks to Flaylda and Kuroi Hihane who have read and reviewed. Thanks so much for encouraging me! I'll try to do my best, I promise.


	3. Chapter III Consequence

What happened to our cute little L? Check this out ;)

Disclaimer: Never own L and Death Note series no matter how much I want it. Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba-sensei and Takeshi Obata-sensei, and I respect them much; so I do not and cannot and will not gain any profit from this fanfic. Just the joy of yours that I want in return :))

_White_

Chapter III: Consequence

L opened his wide bagged-eyes slowly and blinked several times while taking the atmosphere in. He breathed deeply.

_What happened to me?_

"Thank God you're conscious," L could hear Watari's old voice said in relief. "I'll tell the doctor."

After being examined by the doctor and having the nurses checking for blood-pressure and temperature, the doctor said, "This boy is just too tired. He needs more rest. The blood-pressure is still a bit too low and the temperature isn't normal yet. I advise him to take rest here at least until tomorrow."

"You feel better, L? The doctor said that you overworked. To be honest, I feel guilty. I am supposed to play a role of a parent and I failed… I apologized," Watari stated sadly.

"You care for me more than I could ever wish, Mr. Wammy, so there's no need to apologize."

Watari inhaled deeply. L just thought over what the doctor had said.

_He sounded just like Maria…_

_Maria?_

"Mr. Wammy!" L suddenly remembered that he should be at park by 4 P.M. "What time is it?"

"Now is 11 A.M, why?" Watari was confused.

_11 A.M? It couldn't be… The time we went away from the dept. store was half past 12. So it must be…_

"Mr. Wammy," L's eyes widened. "How long have I been in this hospital?"

"2 nights." Aha! What a trouble!

"What?! I… I should meet Maria! Now!" L struggled to sit upright, but the doctor and nurses laid him back onto his bed. He stubbornly attempted to get up.

"Be patient, L, you are not supposed force yourself now…" Watari calmed L down paternally and his words were true. Even without the medical team stopping him, he fell back onto his bed. His head horribly ached.

_But Maria… she must be very upset. I've disavowed my promise to her. She must hate me by now_, L thought. He understood Maria's behaviour pretty well.

"Mr. Wammy, I really need to see her now. I'm afraid she mistakes my condition and hates me for disavowing, since I've promised to meet her 2 days ago. No one has told her about what happened to me, right?"

Watari slowly shook. L tried to raise his hand to nibble on his thumb before realizing that his hands weren't free. There were infuses and so on.

"Doctor," Watari turned his head to the doctor. "Can he go home? He can take rest at home."

"It's not advised," The doctor said. "But well, he'll recover soon. Just come back here if something serious happens."

"Thank you, doctor!"

"But you must promise that you won't work on anything for several days later, okay?"

"Yes," L nodded weakly. "Mr. Wammy?"

"Yes?"

"Can we go to these places and get me these things before heading back home?"

Soon that afternoon L came back to Wammy's House. His face was still deadly pale and his eyes reflected his not-prima condition. But he had a pride that refused to disavow any of the promises he ever made, regardless the situation.

Upon entering the entrance door, Roger welcomed them and immediately pulled Watari to his office. L quickened his pace towards his room. He opened the door to find that Maria was sitting on the edge of her bed. Her eyes moistened as she watched L's empty bed silently. She wore a pretty sweater and a nice skirt, along with a pair of expensive boots. She looked up in surprise when realizing that L had stood by the door, barely panting.

"You…"

"I'm sorry, Maria, I…" L was about to explain but was shocked when Maria stood bolt upright and headed to him. She burst into tears and before L could do anything, Maria began to hit his chest.

"You… jerk, I hate you! I thought you take the deal seriously, but in fact, you just want to toy around with me! I was waiting for you in the rain, you know?! Why can you be so mean? I thought we were friends. Friends! Ha, now I fully realized that nobody will count on me! You must not be close to me in the first place, you… you…" Maria searched for an appropriate insult. L took this opportunity to speak.

"Maria, I didn't do it on purpose. Listen to me. Just when I was about to go to the mentioned place, I…"

But Maria had finally found her voice. "You brat! Who wants to listen to your bullsht?!"

L was rather shocked to hear all of those impudent words coming from Maria, despite he held back his disappointed expression. He knew that Maria often lost control when she felt discomfort but… he never thought Maria would hate him so far. L took a step backwards to protect himself from Maria's uncontrolled emotion. He felt his head aching more horribly than before. He struggled to stand up still. Things must had been clear by that time, or else they would be enemies forever.

"Maria…" L attempted to speak, but Maria pushed him away. Hard. He lost his balance, along with his consciousness.

"L?"

All anger disappeared, switched by fear and anxiety. Maria kneeled down beside L's fainted body, her whole body trembled.

"L?!"

Maria took one of L's arms and placed it onto her shoulder, struggling to drag him onto his bed. For your information, Maria was quite powerful for her age, while L was younger and far lighter.

After she made it, she ran to Watari's office for help. She kicked the door open instead of knocking it. Damn the manner.

"Mr… Wammy… help…" Maria was out of breath, because she was both just running with her whole energy and very anxious.

"What's the matter, Maria?" Watari stood up. He looked curious, so did other people inside the office. There were Watari, Roger, and a 50-something rich woman.

"L… fainted… in our room…"

Watari left to the mentioned room without further ado. Roger tried to continue the discussion with the rich woman but she ignored him. She stood up and called for Maria before the girl followed Watari.

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Is the fainted boy… the one that you'd been waiting at that park, under the rain? The boy that makes you pending your move to my house?"

Maria cracked her toe knuckles impatiently. "Yes, he is."

The woman's coloured-lips curved a smile. "Then go see him before it's too late."

Maria didn't have to be told twice. She ran as fast as she could manage to her room.

"How's him, Mr. Wammy?"

Watari looked up at Maria. He was sitting on the edge of L's bed, while the owner was laying on the bed unconsciously. Watari checked for the temperature before answered, "Bad fever."

Maria bit her lower lip hard. Never in her togetherness with L had she seen him this weak and vulnerable. Her tears began to fall.

"This' because of me…"

"What do you mean, Maria?"

"I… If only I wanted to hear his explanation, if only I never hit and pushed him away, he won't… he won't be like this!"

"Hit and pushed him away? Why… Are you angry at him because he disavowed?"

"I _was_, but if only I know this would happen…" Maria sobbed. "I was just wondering why he didn't come. I… I should know that I can believe in him but… I am about to leave this house _forever _and I can't bear it, thinking that I can't see him at the last moment I am here. He is the one and only friend I have, I should know that can believe in him, really… I was just wondering _why…_"

Watari inhaled deeply. "Then I'll tell you _why_…"

Maria fell onto her knees beside L's bed. She felt terribly guilty after hearing Watari's explanation. She held his cold right hand, eyes moving from his exhausted thin body to the sleepless bags under his closed eyes.

The rich woman eventually reached L and Maria's room. Actually she was a lonely woman who had no husband or children. She was passing by a park with her umbrella on September 30 at 4.30 P.M. Therefore she saw a little 10-years-old girl who was sitting on the bench, drenched by the hard rain. The woman offered her an umbrella and ride to the girl's house, but she said that she was waiting for a friend. So the rich woman waited side-by-side with the noiseless melancholic girl. After 2 hours waiting, the woman offered to take the girl home. By that she learned that the little girl was an orphan. The woman somehow adored and wanted to adopt her. The girl-namely Maria-agreed but she always delayed moving to the woman's big house. It was for a certain reason… she was still waiting for that friend, who had not come back since he left on September 30 at the morning.

"I want to see him, even just once more," Maria admitted sadly. "I was angry to him, but I still wanted to see him…"

"Him too," Watari smiled. "He very panicked when I told him what date's today. But he still remembered about the promise. You see," Watari took L's left hand and showed it to Maria. Maria squeaked in shock.

"Why… is it… wounded that badly?" Maria widened her eyes while examining L's left hand. The fingers were wounded here and there.

"You will know once you see your present."

Maria asked her new mother to wait for another night because Maria wanted to take care of L until he woke up. She stayed all night while L was unconscious- opposed what usually happened. In the middle of night, his forehead and neck heated up. Sweats formed on his face and neck while his slow breathes turned into wheezes.

"God," she prayed as she wiped his sweats. After wiping her own tears, she kissed his forehead. "Please, let him be alright."

She changed his anti-fever plaster and checked for his temperature gradually. When morning came and sunshine burst through the curtain-less window, L opened his eyes.

"Maria?"

"L!" Maria jumped happily and spontaneously hugged L. He blinked twice.

"Aren't you angry anymore?"

"How can I?!" Maria wiped her moistening eyes.

"Hey, you're crying! Are you crying for me?"

"No!" She denied, despite the tears of relief that formed. "Whatever! I have to told Mr. Wammy and Mum!" She ran outside.

…

"Mum?"

A.N: Ahaa, bad little Maria, she was still out of control. Please don't hate her because of this since she had a problem to deal with herself. I think she was pitiful. In fact she felt guilty and took care of L, right? I wonder if only it was me who hugged little L XD

R: I never read any of your story that involves people named Maria, Lawson, and has similar storyline to this. This' simply my own idea about L's childhood. Hopefully you still enjoy it ;)

Next scene, took place in the park 10 years later. Lets see what would happen. Next chapter will be the last. I will be more than happy if you care to leave a review! Much thanks!


	4. Chapter IV Farewell

Ahh, 18-years-old L. He had grown into an adorable teenager by this time. Maria had grown up too.

Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba-sensei and Takeshi Obata-sensei. L would still survive till the end if I were the one who own Death Note series.

_White_

Chapter IV: Farewell

September 30, 1998.

A young woman stepped into the park. _Many things had changed in Winchester_, she thought, _but this place remained same. How awesome._

She walked towards a certain tree. She remembered burying the present here and was a bit disappointed seeing it untouched. No one had dug out the present.

_Does he forget?_

She took a small white-covered agenda out of her purse. The naughty wind played with her long curly brown hair. She could have her hair curled, but said a big NO to hair-dye. She loved her hair's colour after all.

Back to topic, she opened the agenda and looked for a certain page. She took out an old torn-paper from it carefully.

"Five steps forward from the swing, four steps backward diagonally-right, four steps forward diagonally-right, and five steps backward," She read aloud what was written on that old paper. "He never made things easy."

She was grateful that the location of the swing wasn't changed. After doing exactly what she was told, she realized that those steps are to curve a big 'M' on the ground. 'M' for Maria. She smiled friendly to the old paper, as if it was really her mate.

Maria pulled a small folded spade out of her purse. She intentionally brought a big purse that day. After digging about half a meter, her spade reached something hard.

"Yatta! Got it!" Maria smiled happily to herself. She wasn't aware since when, but she had learned a little Japanese colloquial. She dug a little bit more and pulled out a small white steel box. She headed to find a water fountain to cleanse it from soil. She entered the nearest toilet and reached for a water fountain. While rinsing the box, she looked away to outside the toilet through an opened door. The female toilet was exactly opposed the male toilet, so all she could see was the door to male toilet. There was nobody. She shrugged and looked at her box to check whether or not it was clean enough.

"I bet what's in this case…" Maria shook the box a little. A sound of paper or plastic bag heard. She slowly opened the lock…

A plastic-wrapped garment appeared. She carefully removed the wrapper. It was quite hard, since it protected the clothing inside very securely. When she finally succeeded in opening the wrapper, she managed to pull the cloth out. Once she touched it, she felt warmth and softness. She looked at it. A very beautiful white scarf appeared in sight.

"L…" Maria brought the scarf to her face. It was very beautiful, bright and cleanly white, result of the secure wrapper. It was already the end of September, the wind blew harshly. She immediately put it on.

"It's very beautiful…"

Just when she looked at her reflection on the mirror, she realized that the scarf was not purely all-white. She noticed something blue embroidered there. She put it off to examine.

There was a blue 'L' in certain font embroidered neatly there. She tilted her head. Her memory flashed back.

… "_He very panicked when I told him what date's today. But he still remembered about the promise. You see," Watari took L's left hand and showed it to Maria. Maria squeaked in shock._

"_Why… is it… wounded that badly?" Maria widened her eyes while examining L's left hand. The fingers were wounded here and there._

"_You will know once you see your present."_

Her eyes began to moisten. She cursed herself for being so easily to cry, but… She knew now. Even when he was ill, he forced to embroider the letter by himself. He didn't want to just give a present without meaning.

'L'… 'L' from 'Lawliet', 'L' for 'Lawson'.

_That's why his fingers were wounded… And what I did to him after all that he went through for me?_

She put on the scarf again. Just when she closed the box and prepared to leave, she looked once again at the door…

…and saw a young man wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and loose blue jeans.

She was stunned by the sight of the man. She knew those certain clothing too well, since she was the one who buried them there 10 years ago.

"A… ah…" She seemed like lost her feet a moment, but after regaining them, she grabbed her purse and white steel box, ran away as fast as possible.

_There's him!_ Her heart skipped beats that frightened her as if it would explode soon. She saw him, a hunched-over guy with uncombed ebony hair. The way he walked, the way he carried things-- in this case, a plastic bag-- were all too familiar to her.

She fully knew that this was the day they promised to dig the presents together, but she was still surprised and not ready to meet him again after 10 years. After all, she still had such an odd feeling towards him. What it was, even she herself wasn't sure.

The man was about to leave the park. A black, shiny limousine was waiting for him in front of the park. Maria stopped by this sight.

_Do you still think that he is the same boy as he was 10 years ago? _She questioned herself. _Even though the news about him never spread out in public, many of your friends in police force knew him, right? He is very, very popular in his world. The world of justice, the universe that is much different than yours. You understand nothing about it. Do you still think you can chat with him like you did 10 years ago? He won't like you because you have been living a different life from his. It's not the same as when you lived in Wammy's House together with him. Besides, he already becomes a legendary detective. He is rich. It's not impossible if he had already forgotten you._

The man still chatted with his driver through the driver's window. He was still standing up the way he's used to doing. His hands stuck in the pockets of his jeans.

"N-no…" Maria shook. "I don't know whether or not he already changed, but he definitely still remembers me. Him coming here today is enough to prove that."

Convincing herself, she ran as fast as she could manage. She wondered why he always made her run.

"…"

Before Maria called out his (nick)name, he had already turned around, directly looking at her. Through the driver's window, Watari pointed at her.

"Maria…"

"L!" She finally reached him. She was definitely out of breath. Her hair and new scarf waved.

_Sht, I must look very ugly. What a good impression…_

"So you come here too," L said, his wide black eyes stuck on Maria.

"As you see…" Maria tried to calm herself down. She regarded, "Mr. Wammy."

"Glad to see you after so long, Maria," Watari smiled warmly.

"Me too, Mr. Wammy, L…"

"That's from me," L pointed at Maria's scarf.

"Yes," She immediately pulled his left hand. He was quite surprised, but stayed calm. As guessed, his hand was completely unscarred, of course. Ten years was more than enough to recover wounded fingers. "Now I know why your fingers were wounded that badly."

"You know it after you saw you present, right?" Watari chuckled. Maria was amazed on how Watari still remembered that old thing.

"What are you two talking about?" L frowned.

"Oh come on! See, Mr. Wammy, he himself had forgotten it!"

Watari laughed. "He has too many cases to think about. No enough space for such a memory."

"That makes sense."

"How's your life now, Maria?"

She smiled. "Very good. And how about you, little detective?" She teased him, knowing that he was exactly _not _little. He was very tall, even with that back hunching over.

"He traveled to many places around the world to solve case after case." It was Watari who answered.

"Still sticking to Mr. Wammy? Come on, you have been an adult!"

"I am his right hand, no longer a babysitter," Watari laughed while L mumbling an 'I-never-need-a-babysitter' thing. Maria laughed along.

"So, do you like my present?" Maria asked L.

"Mmm..." L looked up at the sky. "Quite…"

"He immediately changed into his new clothes. You have to know, Maria, he came here with a blue long-sleeve shirt and black trousers."

"What?! After this long?" Maria widened her eyes. She glanced at the plastic bag L was holding. She leaned to see what was inside. Certain folded garments, the same blue and black. "So it's real!" Maria was shocked. Watari laughed. L pouted.

"I DO change," L argued. "But all my clothes are in same colours and fashion."

"Yes, I believe," Maria chuckled. "It's impossible for you to still wear those old clothes. You've grown up pretty tall, that's the matter."

"Maria, where do you live now?" L changed the topic.

"In London. I come here specially for my present. You?"

"Japan."

"But he moved to another place after a few months. He should solve cases around the world. He has houses in almost every country," Watari added.

"Waw, that's… amazing," Maria smiled purely. "Congratulation, you have become what you wanted."

"Thank you," L replied.

Silence.

"I think we should leave now, Watari," L looked down at the ground. Maria was surprised.

"This soon?"

"He has to be in America tonight," Watari answered.

"Hnn, you're very busy now, kid!" Maria tried to give a knock to L's head, but she was too short to do it.

"It seems like he doesn't want to leave you now," Watari teased. L remained silent.

"Hee, no need to miss me that much!" Maria laughed. Actually she was trying to hide blushes that appeared on her cheeks. "To be honest, I miss you as well. But today as I see you, you do not change much! Just like you were 10 years ago…" 

"You change," L said shortly.

"Do I?"

"Yes, you seem more cheerful. I bet you're happy with your current life. I am relief."

"Thank you for your care, L," Maria smiled widely. "Actually I don't change that much, but… I was and am–almost--always cheerful when I am by your side."

L raised up his face a little. "Really?"

"Hontou," Maria nodded surely. A wide smile still plastered on her face.

"Hey, since when did you learn Japanese?"

"Since I remembered that my best childhood friend is Japanese," Maria giggled. "Hey, by the way, are you sure it's okay to show me that you are L? I mean… my friends in police force said that your identity is confidential. They themselves always wonder how that legendary detective looks. They always say that he might be an old Poirot-or-Holmes-looking man. If only they know L is a young careless teenager like you," Maria laughed. "Don't you worry I'll accidentally reveal your identity, L?"

"I believe in you. You won't," L replied seriously, eyes looking through hers.

"Eh?" Maria blushed. _That much belief in me? _"We-well, thank you. Ah, your time's up, it seems," she switched the topic before Watari began to tease her. Watari checked his watch.

"We're almost late, L."

"Take care, Maria," L said while opening the passenger's door.

"I am the one who should say that. Haven't I told you that you are very skinny? Please, take care of your health."

"I will," L entered his limo and shut the door. He opened the window. "Don't you want to come with me?"

Maria shook. "I'd love to, but I also must be home soon or else my mum will worry."

"Send our regards to your mum, then."

"Hai. Come visit me in London sometimes."

"I'll try. Sayonara." With that, the limo raced away.

"Sayonara, Eru!" Maria shouted while the car speeded away, further away, and disappeared from her sight. She held back her tears. "I will miss you very, very much. I hope we can meet again someday."

'Eru' is Japanese pronunciation of 'L'

A.N: So… the story about L and Maria ended here. I'm a little bit sad, knowing that they wouldn't meet again in the rest of their life (because I never planned to make a story about that). If I were Maria, I would be oh-so-very-very sad, met my best childhood friend whom I always missed but only had a few minutes to talk to him, and never to see him again. Moreover, the said childhood friend was a cute world-class detective like L.

I made this story in such a short time, so please forgive the lack of idea. Really, I've tried my best, since this is my first Death Note story. Please tell me if L and/or Watari are OOC, so I won't do it again in my next fic. Comments are appreciated. Thank you for the reviewers who had appreciated my work. Even though you aren't going to review, I thank you just for reading!


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